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Sleep 101: Tips and habits for getting a good night’s rest and boosting your health

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Doctors and scientists have long been touting the benefits of sleep for the brain and body. It’s true—sleep is an essential part of maintaining overall well-being. When you are well rested, your mood improves, your stress levels decrease, and you tend to feel more productive. 

Beyond quantity of sleep, research has shown that the quality of your sleep matters too. While current guidelines recommend adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep, over a third of Americans do not meet the minimum. It’s too easy to give in to the over-stimulating activities at your fingertips—hello, TikTok—instead of turning the lights off. Minutes scrolling on social media before bed turn into hours, and screens have made it harder to shut off the brain and prepare for a good night’s rest—ever heard of revenge bedtime procrastination

Getting little sleep is associated with an increased risk of chronic health conditions like heart disease and stroke. Sleeping less also puts people at risk of mental health problems like anxiety and depression. One study found older adults who get five or fewer hours of sleep are at risk for developing multiple chronic conditions. What’s more, sleep deprivation increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents that can result in injury and death. So, improving sleep can, in turn, improve our lives. Even following certain sleep habits can increase your life expectancy, per one study. 

Sleep basics

How much sleep do I need? 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults need at least seven hours of sleep. For those 65 and older, the CDC recommends between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. 

Why is it harder to sleep for older adults? 

As people age, it can be harder to maintain the quantity and quality of sleep. Age-related brain changes can lead to more nighttime wake-ups and a more challenging time falling asleep and staying asleep. Experts recommend shutting off screens well before lights out, relaxing before bed, and moving throughout the day. 

Falling asleep

How can I get better sleep?

  • Establish a wind-down routine: Maintain nighttime habits that bring you a sense of calm for 30 minutes to an hour before bed, like reading, journaling, taking a shower, listening to music, or preparing your clothes for the morning. Wind-down time can also be to simply relax, as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends establishing an hour of “quiet time” before bed to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm or natural body clock.
  • Limit screen time before bed: Limiting stimulation from screens right before bedtime can help people fall asleep better. Consider setting a time limit on your screens to signal your winddown is approaching, or put your phone in a drawer so you aren’t tempted to check it while in bed. 
  • Avoid heavy meals: Eating a large meal right before bed can make it harder to fall asleep when your body is digesting. More so, diets rich in inflammatory foods are associated with poorer sleep. Avoid consistently consuming chips, cookies, soda, and fried foods. When reaching for a nighttime snack, consider grabbing something anti-inflammatory, with nutrients and fiber to make you feel full. Experts recommend:
    • Fruit
    • Nuts 
    • Yogurt 
    • Whole grains 
  • Maintain optimal sleep temperature: Sleep experts recommend your bedroom stays between 68 and 72 degrees. You can also keep your room cool by opening windows, using fans, wearing light clothes, or inquiring about a cooling mattress. 
  • Keep the same bedtime and wake-up times: Having a consistent schedule helps alert your body to being tired at night and awake in the morning around the same times. To align with your body’s natural release of melatonin, shut off the lights within two to three hours of sunset. And going to bed before midnight ensures you spend enough time in deep sleep. One study published this year found sleep regularity helped predict mortality risk more than sleep duration (If you work non-traditional hours that tend to fluctuate and struggle with sleep quality, you may consider speaking with a sleep specialist who can help provide additional remedies).
  • Limit alcohol use before bed: While alcohol may appear to help you fall asleep, it does not contribute to adequate quality of sleep. Sleep disturbances are a critical indicator of alcohol abuse disorder. While no amount of alcohol is beneficial for health outcomes, national guidelines recommend drinkers to limit to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.
  • Wake up calmly: Instead of a blaring alarm tone signaling a busy day’s start, try a progressive sound or a song you enjoy. “You don’t want to begin your day on a stressful note,” Dr. James Giordano, professor of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center, previously told Fortune. “Days are stressful enough.”
  • Monitor coffee: Experts recommend ending caffeine intake six to eight hours before bed, although the effects differ per person so trial and error is key.

Troubleshooting sleep

How can I sleep when I am stressed? 

  • Allot time to worry: It’s impossible to tell our brains to shut off the noise and the worries. Wendy Troxel, a sleep scientist at the Rand Corporation and author of Sharing the Covers: Every Couple’s Guide to Better Sleep, recommends allotting 10 to 15 minutes to worry. Write them down, and then close the cover literally and figuratively. 
  • Practice daily mindfulness: Feeling stressed at night is usually because of residual feelings from the day. Practicing mindfulness during the day, such as a five to 10-minute meditation during a lunch break or the 4-7-8 breathing exercise. The best meditation apps could help you get started.
  • Use gratitudes before bed: Thinking or writing down gratitudes can help you feel calm and appreciative before you go to bed—refocusing your attention on the things going well for you over the things you feel stressed about. What you tell yourself impacts how you feel about yourself, and your ability to fall asleep. 
  • Don’t be hard on yourself: Lying awake in the middle of the night can feel torturous. But it makes it worse to feel frustrated with yourself for not being able to doze off when it may feel like everyone else is asleep but you. It’s normal to be unable to sleep, especially when overwhelmed. Give yourself grace.

Get more tips to fall asleep when you’re stressed

Does napping improve sleep? 

If you’re a lover of the siesta, a standard daily practice in Italy and Spain to rest after lunch and before the evening hours roll in, don’t fret. Napping can be helpful in increasing restfulness during the day. However, there is a sweet spot duration that will help you without harming your night’s sleep.

The Romans were onto something, as the midday slump seems to roll in like clockwork at around 3 p.m. One expert says a successful siesta is between 15 to 25 minutes to ensure you still have a restful night’s sleep.  “When we nap much longer, we may cycle into deeper stages of sleep, which may be harder to wake from,” Alaina Tiani, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, previously told Fortune.

Power naps may also be better for brain health and delay brain shrinkage. 

Should I take melatonin? 

Melatonin is our body’s natural hormone released when it’s time to go to bed. Taking a melatonin supplement can help shift your circadian rhythm and signal to your body that it’s time to get sleep earlier than you may have been able to. Therefore, it may help people sleep earlier and longer. 

However, experts recommend between one and five milligrams of melatonin for adults, and many pharmacy-sold brands do not have clear dosage labels. 

And more, short-term use has not been associated with complications, but the supplement has not been studied for long-term use in adults. 

Read more about melatonin

What can I do after a poor night’s sleep? 

  • Move: Getting immediate sunlight can help wake our bodies up even after a bad night’s sleep. And if you wake up before your alarm, it’s okay to get up and move around before trying to get back to sleep. 
  • Eat: Eating a nutritious breakfast rich in protein and fiber can help keep us energized during the day.
  • Breathe: Deep breathing and calming our brain and bodies can help us stay focused after a bad night’s sleep.

Read more about how to bounce back after a poor night’s sleep

How do I know if I have a sleep disorder? 

Most experts say if you notice you have trouble falling and staying asleep more than three times a week for three months or more, it’s important to see a sleep specialist to review any potential disorders at play. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is commonly used to treat insomnia, and sleep medication is prescribed as necessary.

View the Fortune 50 Best Places to Live for Families list. Discover the top destinations across the U.S. for multigenerational families to live, thrive, and find community. Explore the list.



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SpaceX to offer insider shares at record-setting $800 billion valuation

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SpaceX is preparing to sell insider shares in a transaction that would value Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker at as much as $800 billion, people familiar with the matter said, reclaiming the title of the world’s most valuable private company. 

The details, discussed by SpaceX’s board of directors on Thursday at its Starbase hub in Texas, could change based on interest from insider sellers and buyers or other factors, said some of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. SpaceX is also exploring a possible initial public offering as soon as late next year, one of the people said. 

Another person briefed on the matter said that the price under discussion for the sale of some employees and investors’ shares is higher than $400 apiece, which would value SpaceX at between $750 billion and $800 billion. The company wouldn’t raise any funds though this planned sale, though a successful offering at such levels would catapult it past the record of $500 billion valuation achieved by OpenAI in October.

Elon Musk on Saturday denied that SpaceX is raising money at a $800 billion valuation without addressing Bloomberg’s reporting on the planned offering of insiders’ shares. 

“SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors,” Musk said in a post on his social media platform X. 

The share sale price under discussion would be a substantial increase from the $212 a share set in July, when the company raised money and sold shares at a valuation of $400 billion. The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times earlier reported the $800 billion valuation target.

News of SpaceX’s valuation sent shares of EchoStar Corp., a satellite TV and wireless company, up as much as 18%. Last month, EchoStar had agreed to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX for $2.6 billion, adding to an earlier agreement to sell about $17 billion in wireless spectrum to Musk’s company.

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The world’s most prolific rocket launcher, SpaceX dominates the space industry with its Falcon 9 rocket that lifts satellites and people to orbit.

SpaceX is also the industry leader in providing internet services from low-Earth orbit through Starlink, a system of more than 9,000 satellites that is far ahead of competitors including Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Leo.

Elite Group

SpaceX is among an elite group of companies that have the ability to raise funds at $100 billion-plus valuations while delaying or denying they have any plan to go public. 

An IPO of the company at an $800 billion value would vault SpaceX into another rarefied group — the 20 largest public companies, a few notches below Musk’s Tesla Inc. 

If SpaceX sold 5% of the company at that valuation, it would have to sell $40 billion of stock — making it the biggest IPO of all time, well above Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion listing in 2019. The firm sold just 1.5% of the company in that offering, a much smaller slice than the majority of publicly traded firms make available.

A listing would also subject SpaceX to the volatility of being a public company, versus private firms whose valuations are closely guarded secrets. Space and defense company IPOs have had a mixed reception in 2025. Karman Holdings Inc.’s stock has nearly tripled since its debut, while Firefly Aerospace Inc. and Voyager Technologies Inc. have plunged by double-digit percentages since their debuts.

SpaceX executives have repeatedly floated the idea of spinning off SpaceX’s Starlink business into a separate, publicly traded company — a concept President Gwynne Shotwell first suggested in 2020. 

However, Musk cast doubt on the prospect publicly over the years and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said in 2024 that a Starlink IPO would be something that would take place more likely “in the years to come.”

The Information, citing people familiar with the discussions, separately reported on Friday that SpaceX has told investors and financial institution representatives that it’s aiming for an IPO of the entire company in the second half of next year.

Read More: How to Buy SpaceX: A Guide for the Eager, Pre-IPO

A so-called tender or secondary offering, through which employees and some early shareholders can sell shares, provides investors in closely held companies such as SpaceX a way to generate liquidity.

SpaceX is working to develop its new Starship vehicle, advertised as the most powerful rocket ever developed to loft huge numbers of Starlink satellites as well as carry cargo and people to moon and, eventually, Mars.



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National Park Service drops free admission on MLK Day and Juneteenth while adding Trump’s birthday

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The National Park Service will offer free admission to U.S. residents on President Donald Trump’s birthday next year — which also happens to be Flag Day — but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.

The new list of free admission days for Americans is the latest example of the Trump administration downplaying America’s civil rights history while also promoting the president’s image, name and legacy.

Last year, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day and Juneteenth — which is June 19 — but not June 14, Trump’s birthday.

The new free-admission policy takes effect Jan. 1 and was one of several changes announced by the Park Service late last month, including higher admission fees for international visitors.

The other days of free park admission in 2026 are Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27) and the anniversary of the creation of the Park Service (Aug. 25).

Eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated, removes two of the nation’s most prominent civil rights holidays.

Some civil rights leaders voiced opposition to the change after news about it began spreading over the weekend.

“The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven,” Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the NAACP, wrote on social media about the new policy.

Kristen Brengel, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said that while presidential administrations have tweaked the free days in the past, the elimination of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is particularly concerning. For one, the day has become a popular day of service for community groups that use the free day to perform volunteer projects at parks.

That will now be much more expensive, said Brengel, whose organization is a nonprofit that advocates for the park system.

“Not only does it recognize an American hero, it’s also a day when people go into parks to clean them up,” Brengel said. “Martin Luther King Jr. deserves a day of recognition … For some reason, Black history has repeatedly been targeted by this administration, and it shouldn’t be.”

Some Democratic lawmakers also weighed in to object to the new policy.

“The President didn’t just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom,” said Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. “Our country deserves better.”

A spokesperson for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to questions on Saturday seeking information about the reasons behind the changes.

Since taking office, Trump has sought to eliminate programs seen as promoting diversity across the federal government, actions that have erased or downplayed America’s history of racism as well as the civil rights victories of Black Americans.

Self-promotion is an old habit of the president’s and one he has continued in his second term. He unsuccessfully put himself forwardfor the Nobel Peace Prize, renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after himself, sought to put his name on the planned NFL stadium in the nation’s capital and had a new children’s savings program named after him.

Some Republican lawmakers have suggested putting his visage on Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill.



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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Europe has a ‘real problem’

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon called out slow bureaucracy in Europe in a warning that a “weak” continent poses a major economic risk to the US.

“Europe has a real problem,” Dimon said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum. “They do some wonderful things on their safety nets. But they’ve driven business out, they’ve driven investment out, they’ve driven innovation out. It’s kind of coming back.”

While he praised some European leaders who he said were aware of the issues, he cautioned politics is “really hard.” 

Dimon, leader of the biggest US bank, has long said that the risk of a fragmented Europe is among the major challenges facing the world. In his letter to shareholders released earlier this year, he said that Europe has “some serious issues to fix.”

On Saturday, he praised the creation of the euro and Europe’s push for peace. But he warned that a reduction in military efforts and challenges trying to reach agreement within the European Union are threatening the continent.

“If they fragment, then you can say that America first will not be around anymore,” Dimon said. “It will hurt us more than anybody else because they are a major ally in every single way, including common values, which are really important.”

He said the US should help.

“We need a long-term strategy to help them become strong,” Dimon said. “A weak Europe is bad for us.”

The administration of President Donald Trump issued a new national security strategy that directed US interests toward the Western Hemisphere and protection of the homeland while dismissing Europe as a continent headed toward “civilizational erasure.”

Read More: Trump’s National Security Strategy Veers Inward in Telling Shift

JPMorgan has been ramping up its push to spur more investments in the national defense sector. In October, the bank announced that it would funnel $1.5 trillion into industries that bolster US economic security and resiliency over the next 10 years — as much as $500 billion more than what it would’ve provided anyway. 

Dimon said in the statement that it’s “painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing.”

Investment banker Jay Horine oversees the effort, which Dimon called “100% commercial.” It will focus on four areas: supply chain and advanced manufacturing; defense and aerospace; energy independence and resilience; and frontier and strategic technologies. 

The bank will also invest as much as $10 billion of its own capital to help certain companies expand, innovate or accelerate strategic manufacturing.

Separately on Saturday, Dimon praised Trump for finding ways to roll back bureaucracy in the government.

“There is no question that this administration is trying to bring an axe to some of the bureaucracy that held back America,” Dimon said. “That is a good thing and we can do it and still keep the world safe, for safe food and safe banks and all the stuff like that.”



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